Ruth Rendell | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/ruth-rendell
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Sun, 02 Aug 2015 19:51:30 GMT2015-08-02T19:51:30Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Best holiday reads 2015http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holiday
<p>From a portrait of modern-day Britain at work to New York in the 1940s, taking in the secret world of Fifa and tales of female friendships, authors, critics and other bookworms tell us which books they will be reading on the beach</p><ul><li><em>To save up to 30% on all books in the summer reading list, go to <a href="https://bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/category/view/s/observer-summer-reading-list/id/292/?utm_source=editoriallink&amp;utm_medium=merch&amp;utm_campaign=article">bookshop.theguardian.com</a></em><br></li><li><em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/11/best-holiday-reads-2015">The Guardian’s best holiday reads</a></em></li></ul><p><strong>Novelist</strong><br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holiday">Continue reading...</a>Summer readingFictionHistoryPoetryThrillersCrime fictionHouse and gardenAS ByattDavid MitchellToni MorrisonJeremy PaxmanSebastian FaulksJohn BanvilleJackie KayAlexander McCall SmithKen FollettHarper LeeElena FerranteBlake MorrisonPhilip HensherMark HaddonGeorge EliotIan RankinHari KunzruVS NaipaulJulian BagginiJosie RourkeRobert PestonOwen SheersCurtis SittenfeldLucy Hughes-HallettJohn GrayMargaret DrabbleVal McDermidPoliticsColm TóibínKarl Ove KnausgaardRuth RendellJulie MyersonMariella FrostrupBooksCultureSun, 12 Jul 2015 07:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holidayPhotograph: Andy HallRobert Macfarlane: ‘writes about landscape with such scalpel-sharp precision’.Photograph: Andy HallRobert Macfarlane: ‘writes about landscape with such scalpel-sharp precision’.Photograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Photograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Photograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Photograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.The Observer2015-07-12T07:00:03ZHow Ruth Rendell became the favourite of French cinemahttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinema
<p>François Ozon’s latest film The New Girlfriend is just the most recent illustration of French film-makers’ love of Rendell – they have no snobbery about genre<br></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/claude-chabrol" title="">Claude Chabrol</a> had a&nbsp;knack for starting things. In 1957, he co‑wrote the first book on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/150108/hitchcock" title="">Hitchcock</a>. The following year, he became the first of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/18/story-cahiers-cinema-emilie-bickerton-review" title="">opinionated Cahiers du Cin&eacute;ma critics</a> to make a&nbsp;feature film, and he later helped his slow-coach colleagues, Godard and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/francoistruffaut" title="">Truffaut</a>, on&nbsp;their way. His willingness to take Hitchcock seriously provoked a&nbsp;transatlantic deluge of criticism and interpretation, and the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/18/nouvelle-vague-film-cinema" title="">New Wave produced following waves</a> in Germany, Britain, Czechoslovakia, the US and Brazil. Then, in 1995, Chabrol adapted Ruth Rendell’s novel <em>A Judgment in Stone</em> as <em>La C&eacute;r&eacute;monie</em>, kicking off a vogue for French films of Rendell that includes Claude Miller’s controlled and gripping <em>Betty Fisher and Other Stories</em> (based on <em>Tree of Hands</em>), Gilles Bourdos’s moody, unsettling, if somewhat abstract <em>Inqui&eacute;tudes</em> (based on <em>A Sight for Sore Eyes</em>, the film’s English title), and now Fran&ccedil;ois Ozon’s sprightly, benign and – hardly surprising, given its origins in a 15-page story – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell" title="">overextended <em>The New Girlfriend</em></a>.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell">The New Girlfriend review – bold adaptation of a Ruth Rendell short story</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinema">Continue reading...</a>The New GirlfriendRuth RendellBooksFilmCultureSat, 13 Jun 2015 06:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinemaPhotograph: Felix ClayRuth Rendell in 2013.Photograph: Felix ClayRuth Rendell in 2013.Photograph: handoutClaire (Anaïs Demoustier), left, and Laura (Isild Le Besco) in François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend.Photograph: handoutClaire (Anaïs Demoustier), left, and Laura (Isild Le Besco) in François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend.Leo Robson2015-06-13T06:00:01ZThe New Girlfriend review – bold adaptation of a Ruth Rendell short storyhttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell
François Ozon’s latest film blurs the boundaries between psychological thriller and absurdist melodrama, but suffers from not settling on either<p>Once again, it’s up to the Europeans to do the late Ruth Rendell justice, and Ozon’s loose adaptation of her short story of the same name fits right in along Almod&oacute;var’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYLgjp9yON0" title="">Live Flesh </a>and Chabrol’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqkaSodgEuM&amp;index=5&amp;list=PLjp8b-jQBwNu4vaC1A0g7e0FwjJjH3dn9" title="">La C&eacute;r&eacute;monie</a>. It’s arguably bolder than either in its smooth blurring of bourgeois boundaries between gay/straight, masculine/feminine and possibly sane/insane.</p><p>It’s almost impossible to describe the outlandish story without giving away an early revelation. Reeling from the death of her lifelong friend Laura, meek suburban wife Claire (Ana&iuml;s Demoustier) drops in to see Laura’s husband David (Romain Duris), only to find him in, well, compromising circumstances. At first disgusted, Claire finds herself supporting, then positively encouraging David’s big secret, and in the process their relationship drifts into dangerously uncharted territory, all coloured by the ghostly memory of&nbsp;Laura. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYYLquxN2zQ" title="">Otto Preminger</a> would have&nbsp;approved.)</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell">Continue reading...</a>The New GirlfriendFilmCultureFrançois OzonRomain DurisFilm adaptationsRuth RendellThu, 21 May 2015 20:15:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendellPhotograph: Bertrand Calmeau/Mandarin Cinema/PRUncharted territory … Romain Duris and Anaïs Demoustier in François Ozon's The New Girlfriend.Photograph: Bertrand Calmeau/Mandarin Cinema/PRUncharted territory … Romain Duris and Anaïs Demoustier in François Ozon's The New Girlfriend.Steve Rose2015-05-21T20:15:06ZRuth Rendell: memories of a friend who stood by mehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-me
<p>Jeanette Winterson reflects on her first meeting with Ruth Rendell nearly 30 years ago and the remarkable friendship that followed</p><p>I met <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/ruth-rendell">Ruth Rendell</a> in 1986. She was living in a large house in Polstead, Suffolk with her husband, Don. I was living in a room in Kentish Town, London. Ruth had been a successful writer for 22 years and published 25 novels. I had published my first novel <a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/oranges-are-not-the-only-fruit.html"><em>Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit</em> </a>the year before.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">No one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermid</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Ruth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fiction</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-me">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionBooksFictionCultureFri, 08 May 2015 13:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-mePhotograph: Fenris Oswin/PRRuth Rendell (left) and Jeanette Winterson. Photograph: Fenris OswinPhotograph: Fenris Oswin/PRRuth Rendell (left) and Jeanette Winterson. Photograph: Fenris OswinJeanette Winterson2015-05-08T13:00:03ZLetter: Ruth Rendell was very comfortable when her books were adapted for ITVhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituary
<p>You knew exactly where you were with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer" title="">Ruth Rendell</a>. A consummate professional, she was very comfortable when her books were adapted for the ITV network. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/08/george-baker" title="">George Baker</a>, who played Wexford so perfectly that Ruth began quickly to see him in her mind as she started to write a new detective novel, the series producer, Neil Zeiger, the directors and I, as executive producer, enjoyed a special relationship, but she never missed a trick.</p><p>Although she was quick to articulate any problem or difference of opinion as she reviewed each screenplay, Ruth also understood that her work was respected by us all and that her creations were undergoing a different process as they were realised for the screen. Not only did we enjoy 15 years of an exceptional professional relationship but we were all friends. She knew our families, we socialised together from time to time, and she loved a gossipy lunch in Soho.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituary">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksTelevision & radioITV NewsWed, 06 May 2015 15:11:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituaryPhotograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell with George Baker, who played Reg Wexford in the ITV series based on her books. Photograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockPhotograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell with George Baker, who played Reg Wexford in the ITV series based on her books. Photograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockGraham Benson2015-05-06T15:11:31ZAppreciation: Ruth Rendell quickly became a valued member of the House of Lordshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciation
<p>Ruth Rendell was not only a distinguished author, she was also a much loved colleague and friend. She entered the House of Lords in the first list of Labour peers after the 1997 election, taking the title Lady Rendell of Babergh – a recognition of her beloved Suffolk. She quickly became a valued member, attending regularly and taking part in the life of the house.</p><p>Her day began at 5.30am with exercise, including a stint on her cross trainer; she also did pilates twice a week. She started writing in the early morning, but always made sure that she arrived at 2.30pm for Question Time in the Lords.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciation">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksHouse of LordsFemale genital mutilation (FGM)CharitiesMon, 04 May 2015 16:37:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciationPhotograph: /DDP USA/RexRuth Rendell in 2012. Photograph: DDP USA/RexPhotograph: /DDP USA/RexRuth Rendell in 2012. Photograph: DDP USA/RexValerie Amos, Doreen E Massey and Jill Pitkeathley2015-05-04T16:37:04ZRuth Rendell: From the archivehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archive
<p>Interviews with Ruth Rendell from the Guardian and Observer archive</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">• Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a></p><p>Ruth Rendell wrote more than 60 novels, from the Inspector Wexford crime series to the darker, more psychological thrillers written as Barbara Vine.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archive">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionFictionCultureSun, 03 May 2015 08:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archivePhotograph: the guardianThe Guardian, 21 April 1988. <a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/1/15/1421338467554/Ruth-Rendell-21-April-198-001.jpg">Click to read the full article</a>Photograph: the guardianThe Guardian, 21 April 1988. <a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/1/15/1421338467554/Ruth-Rendell-21-April-198-001.jpg">Click to read the full article</a>Photograph: United News/PopperfotoRuth Rendell, London, January 1986.Photograph: United News/PopperfotoRuth Rendell, London, January 1986.Richard Nelsson2015-05-03T08:00:01ZNo one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermidhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer
<p>Current British crime writing owes much to a writer who consistently showed that the genre can continually reinvent itself</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">• Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">• Ruth Rendell and PD James, giants of crime fiction</a></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a> </p><p>I woke up this morning to a distant view of dark hills and grey skies and thought inevitably about the opening stanza of WH Auden’s elegy to WB Yeats: </p><p><em>The mercury sank in the mouth of the dying day.</em></p><p><em>What instruments we have agree</em></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Ruth Rendell: five key works</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionCultureUK newsPoliticsBooksFictionHouse of LordsSat, 02 May 2015 13:50:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writerPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianRuth Rendell: ‘A book flowed from her prolific pen approximately every nine months’.Photograph: Martin Argles/GuardianRuth Rendell: ‘A book flowed from her prolific pen approximately every nine months’.Val McDermid2015-05-02T13:50:49ZRuth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fictionhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction
<p>Rendell and her great friend James, who died last November, brought the genre critical respect, and they not only wrote about the law – they changed it, too</p><p>On Wednesday evening this week, publishers and readers of crime fiction gathered at Temple church in London’s law quarter for the memorial service of PD James, one of the two finest English crime-writers of the 20th century. A poignant absentee was the other: Ruth Rendell was too frail to attend the farewell to her great friend and co-practitioner following a severe stroke in January, complications from which led to her death, announced on Saturday, at the age of 85.<br /></p><p> There is a clearly a bleakness in the fact that the genre of detective fiction has lost two of its giants within six months, but there is also a neatness. Rendell and James were always closely allied, both professionally and personally. One of Rendell’s last public engagements before her final illness had been to attend, in December, the funeral of PD James in Oxford.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellFictionBooksWomenHouse of LordsPD JamesFemale genital mutilation (FGM)Sat, 02 May 2015 13:24:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fictionPhotograph: Richard Gardner/REX ShutterstockRuth Rendell and the actor George Baker, who played DCI Wexford, at the 1995 Labour party conference.Photograph: Richard Gardner/REX ShutterstockRuth Rendell and the actor George Baker, who played DCI Wexford, at the 1995 Labour party conference.Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell, left, and PD James, who died in November 2014.Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell, left, and PD James, who died in November 2014.Mark Lawson2015-05-02T13:24:19ZRuth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85
<p>Creator of Inspector Wexford, who also wrote as Barbara Vine, was admitted to hospital after serious stroke in January</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">• Val McDermid: No one can equal Ruth Rendell’s range or accomplishment</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">• In her own words</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">• Five key works</a></p><p>Ruth Rendell, one of Britain’s best-loved authors, who delighted fans for decades with her dark, intricately plotted crime novels, has died at the age of 85, her publisher has announced.</p><p>Baroness Rendell of Babergh, the creator of Inspector Wexford and author of more than 60 novels, had been admitted to hospital after a serious stroke in January and died in London on Saturday morning. The statement from her publisher, Hutchinson, said her family had requested privacy.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Ruth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fiction</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionCultureUK newsBooksFictionSat, 02 May 2015 13:23:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85Photograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianRuth Rendell at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2012.Photograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianRuth Rendell at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2012.Alison Flood and Vanessa Thorpe2015-05-02T13:23:52ZRuth Rendell obituaryhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer
Crime novelist famed for her Inspector Wexford books who also wrote dark and chilling thrillers under the pen name Barbara Vine<p>Ruth Rendell, Lady Rendell of Babergh, also known as Barbara Vine, who has died aged 85, was a literary phenomenon. From 1964, when her country copper, Reg Wexford, first stepped before the reading public in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Doon-With-Death-Wexford/dp/0099534789" title="">From Doon With Death</a>, she wrote more than 50 crime novels and seven books of short stories. Many of them were adapted for television or made into feature films; the Wexford books in particular were an enormous success on TV, with the actor <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/08/george-baker" title="">George Baker</a> playing Wexford as a big, gruff, rural policeman, solving crime in the fictional Sussex town of Kingsmarkham.</p><p>But Rendell was never satisfied with producing the annual whodunnit. She demonstrated this when, rather than follow her first Wexford novel with more of the same, she daringly jumped away from the classic English mystery in her second book, To Fear a Painted Devil (1965), and gave readers a taste of the psychological thrillers to come.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Ruth Rendell: five key works</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">No one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermid</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionBooksUK newsCrime dramaThrillersPoliticsAssisted dyingNewspapersLabourLondonHouse of LordsSat, 02 May 2015 13:03:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writerPhotograph: ITV/Rex FeaturesGeorge Baker as Detective Chief Inspector Reg Wexford and Louie Ramsay as Dora Wexford in ITV’s The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, 1988.Photograph: ITV/Rex FeaturesGeorge Baker as Detective Chief Inspector Reg Wexford and Louie Ramsay as Dora Wexford in ITV’s The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, 1988.Photograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResRuth Rendell in 2004. She liked to concentrate more on character and psychology rather than old-fashioned police procedure in her novels. Photograph: ITV/RexPhotograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResRuth Rendell in 2004. She liked to concentrate more on character and psychology rather than old-fashioned police procedure in her novels. Photograph: ITV/RexStanley Reynolds2015-05-02T13:03:13ZRuth Rendell: In quoteshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes
<p>Ruth Rendell, creator of Chief Inspector Wexford, and some of Britain’s best-loved crime novels, has died aged 85. Here are some of her thoughts on life and literature</p><p><em>Ruth and Barbara are two aspects of me. Ruth is tougher, colder, more analytical, possibly more aggressive … Barbara is more feminine … For a long time I have wanted Barbara to have a voice as well as Ruth. It would be a softer voice speaking at a slower pace, more sensitive perhaps, and more intuitive.”</em></p><p><a href="http://www.gusworld.com.au/books/vine/why.htm">– Introduction to US paperback editions of <em>A Dark Adapted Eye</em> and <em>A Fatal Inversion</em></a></p><p><em>Some say life is the thing, but I prefer reading.</em> </p><p><strong>- A Judgement in Stone (</strong>1977)</p><p><em>His books distracted him for a while. They were like the aspirins you take when you’ve got a headache. They kill the pain for two hours and then it comes back.</em> </p><p><strong>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47687.Barbara_Vine"> </a> Gallowglass,</strong> by Barbara Vine (1990)</p><p><em>Time, the best of all doctors, though it kills you in the end, had done more than therapy could.</em></p><p><strong>― A Fatal Inversion,</strong> as Barbara Vine (1987)</p><p><em>Our children, when young, are part of ourselves. When they grow up they are just other people.</em></p><p><strong>―The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy (</strong>1998)</p><p><em>We are all mad at three in the morning</em></p><p><em>While most of the things you’ve worried about have never happened, it’s a different story with the things you haven’t worried about. They are the ones that happen </em></p><p><strong><em>- </em>Talking to Strange Men (</strong>1987)</p><p><em>The knives of jealousy are honed on details.</em></p><p><strong>- An Unkindness Of Ravens, </strong>1985</p><p><em>The old detective story that’s got a really complicated tortuous motive doesn’t apply to mine. It’s that people do these things almost by accident, or because of anger, their rage, their madness – and then probably regret it.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/01/ruth-rendell-life-in-writing">-A Life in Writing, the Guardian, 2013</a></p><p><em>Maybe being married is talking to oneself with one’s other self listening.</em></p><p>I’ve had two proposals since I’ve been a widow. I am a wonderful catch, you know. I have a lot of money. </p><p>- <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3640185/Her-dark-materials.html">Telegraph interview, 2005 </a></p><p>There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one … </p><p>I think about death every day - what it would be like, why it would happen to me. It would be humiliating to be afraid. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionFictionSat, 02 May 2015 13:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotesPhotograph: Jane Mingay/Associated PressRuth Rendell at home in London, in 2005.Photograph: Jane Mingay/Associated PressRuth Rendell at home in London, in 2005.Guardian Staff2015-05-02T13:00:06ZRuth Rendell: five key workshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works
<p>Writing as both Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine, the crime writer, who has died aged 85, helped redefine the genre of crime fiction. We round up the key titles</p><p><a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/from-doon-with-death-2.html"><strong>From Doon with Death (1964)</strong></a><br /></p><p>Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford first appeared in Rendell’s debut novel, when an “ordinary” wife goes missing in the small Sussex town of Kingsmarkham. A search of the attic reveals a stash of books inscribed to Mina with love from a mysterious Doon. More than 20 novels later Rendell explained why she kept returning to her taciturn detective. “I don’t get sick of him because he’s me,” she said. “He doesn’t look like me, of course, but the way he thinks and his principles and his ideas and what he likes doing, that’s me. So I think you don’t get tired of yourself.”<br /><a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/judgement-in-stone.html"><strong>A Judgement in Stone (1977)</strong></a><br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionCultureSat, 02 May 2015 13:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-worksPhotograph: Martin Argles/theguardian.comAt the scene of the crimes … Ruth RendellPhotograph: Martin Argles/theguardian.comAt the scene of the crimes … Ruth RendellGuardian Staff2015-05-02T13:00:06ZThe New Girlfriend: François Ozon's take on Ruth Rendell - video trailerhttp://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/apr/27/the-new-girlfriend-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell-video-trailer
Romain Duris takes the lead in this dark Hitchcockian comedy about a man who finds an unusual way of dealing with the death of his wife. Like many of François Ozon's greatest films, it focuses on shifting sexuality and biting satire. The New Girlfriend is released in the UK on 22 May <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/apr/27/the-new-girlfriend-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell-video-trailer">Continue reading...</a>François OzonFilmCultureDramaRuth RendellRomain DurisFilm adaptationsMon, 27 Apr 2015 09:57:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/apr/27/the-new-girlfriend-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell-video-trailerguardian.co.uk140x84 trailpic for The New Girlfriend trailerGuardian Staff2015-04-27T09:57:00ZRuth Rendell in hospital after serious strokehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/15/ruth-rendell-hospitalised-serious-stroke
<p>Publisher announces that much-acclaimed crime writer of the Inspector Wexford novels and many others is in ‘a critical but stable condition’</p><p>Ruth Rendell is in hospital after suffering a serious stroke last Wednesday, her publisher has announced.</p><p>Hutchinson issued a statement on Thursday that the bestselling and critically acclaimed novelist was in hospital “under expert care in a critical but stable condition”. Her son Simon Rendell is with her, added the publisher, and the family have requested privacy “while the doctors assess the best course of treatment”.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/15/ruth-rendell-hospitalised-serious-stroke">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionFictionCulturePD JamesThu, 15 Jan 2015 11:06:28 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/15/ruth-rendell-hospitalised-serious-strokePhotograph: /Felix Clay for the GuardianRuth Rendell. Photograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianPhotograph: /Felix Clay for the GuardianRuth Rendell. Photograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianAlison Flood2015-01-15T11:06:28ZWriters pick the best books of 2014: part onehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/29/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014
<p>It’s been a year of calls to action. Naomi Klein tackled climate change, Owen Jones got to grips with class politics, and Russell Brand preached revolution. Writers from Hilary Mantel to Lena Dunham recommend the titles that leaped out at them this year</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014-part-2">Writers’ picks of 2014: part two</a><br></p><p><strong>• Nominate your book of the year in the form at the bottom of the article, for our readers’ choice list</strong></p><p class="text">To participate you will need to register or sign in by using the button below. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/29/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014">Continue reading...</a>Best books of the yearBest booksMargaret AtwoodJulian BarnesMary BeardWilliam BoydJohn GrayPhilip HensherNaomi KleinPenelope LivelyRobert MacfarlaneHilary MantelEimear McBrideMichael MorpurgoBlake MorrisonAndrew MotionDavid NichollsIan RankinRuth RendellJeanette WintersonLena DunhamMark LawsonShami ChakrabartiFictionBiographyAutobiography and memoirPoetryComics and graphic novelsBooksCultureSat, 29 Nov 2014 08:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/29/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014Photograph: Marion CouttsMarion Coutts with her husband Tom Lubbock and their son Ev.Photograph: Marion CouttsMarion Coutts with her husband Tom Lubbock and their son Ev.Photograph: Colin McPherson/CorbisFishing off the Scottish coastPhotograph: Colin McPherson/CorbisFishing off the Scottish coastPhotograph: Photofees/Getty Images/Flickr OpenA goshawk in flightPhotograph: Photofees/Getty Images/Flickr OpenA goshawk in flightPhotograph: GuardianWhat books did they read this year? (Top row from left) Hilary Mantel, Jeanette Winterson, David Nicholls, Lena Dunham, Michael Morpurgo; (bottom row) Eimear McBride, Shami Chakrabarti, Naomi Klein, Ian Rankin, Margaret Atwood.Photograph: GuardianWhat books did they read this year? (Top row from left) Hilary Mantel, Jeanette Winterson, David Nicholls, Lena Dunham, Michael Morpurgo; (bottom row) Eimear McBride, Shami Chakrabarti, Naomi Klein, Ian Rankin, Margaret Atwood.Photograph: GuardianWhat did they read this year? (Top row from left) Hilary Mantel, Jeanette Winterson, Ian Rankin, Michael Morpurgo; (bottom row) Margaret Atwood, David Nichols, Lena Dunham, Shami Chakrabarti. Photograph: GuardianPhotograph: GuardianWhat did they read this year? (Top row from left) Hilary Mantel, Jeanette Winterson, Ian Rankin, Michael Morpurgo; (bottom row) Margaret Atwood, David Nichols, Lena Dunham, Shami Chakrabarti. Photograph: GuardianGuardian Staff2014-11-29T08:00:08ZPD James: ‘Any of the events in Phyllis’s books might have happened’http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-any-of-the-events-in-phylliss-books-might-have-happened
Ruth Rendell looks back on her 40-year friendship with her fellow crime novelist PD James – ‘such a nice woman’ <br /><br />• <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-detective-fiction-dies-aged-94-detective-adam-dalgliesh" title="">PD James, queen of crime fiction, dies aged 94</a><br /><p>I’ve known Phyllis for about 40 years. We met at a book festival, probably one of the first I ever attended. It would have been a very commonplace thing for her to go to a festival, but nobody knew me then, and she was so nice to me. That is the thing I always will most remember about her: what a kind woman she was, how she did her very best to make you feel good.</p><p>She did not write sensation novels, she wrote books about real things, things that could have happened. She didn’t write at all like Agatha Christie. Christie had the most magnificent plots and great stories, but I don’t think anyone would say that she wrote believable stuff, people didn’t want that from her.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-any-of-the-events-in-phylliss-books-might-have-happened">Continue reading...</a>PD JamesRuth RendellFictionCrime fictionBooksThu, 27 Nov 2014 21:23:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-any-of-the-events-in-phylliss-books-might-have-happenedPhotograph: /Adrian Sherratt/RexPD James, right, and Ruth Rendell at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2009. The two writers first met at a literary festival. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/RexPhotograph: /Adrian Sherratt/RexPD James, right, and Ruth Rendell at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2009. The two writers first met at a literary festival. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/RexRuth Rendell2014-11-27T21:23:39ZThe Girl Next Door review – Ruth Rendell's acute investigation of old agehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/14/girl-next-door-ruth-rendell-review-death-from-a-different-angle
Yes, there's a murder, but the veteran crime writer explores death from a different angle in her latest novel<p>Shortly before the second world war, a man nicknamed Woody murders his wife and his wife's lover. In an act of psychopathy, he cuts off the couple's hands and buries them, in a cookie jar, in tunnels that the local children play in. Veteran crime writer Ruth Rendell's new novel, <em>The Girl Next Door</em>, is strangely detached from the crime it opens with. Set 70 years later, when the hands of the victims are unearthed, it focuses not on the murder but on the children (now elderly) who are reunited by the resulting criminal investigation. Although mysteries from their pasts are revealed as memories are pieced together, Rendell is more interested in the new relationships formed within the group.</p><p>Instead of exploring psychopathy as one might have expected, Rendell gives an acutely observed portrayal of old age through her characters' regrets, losses and bewilderment. Her realism renders the novel bleak at times but moving too. Difficult themes such as death, usually dressed up in mystery in a crime novel, are real, hard-hitting and constant.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/14/girl-next-door-ruth-rendell-review-death-from-a-different-angle">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionFictionBooksCultureSun, 14 Sep 2014 12:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/14/girl-next-door-ruth-rendell-review-death-from-a-different-angleMurdo Macleod/ObserverRuth Rendell:hard-hitting. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the ObserverMurdo Macleod/ObserverRuth Rendell Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the ObserverClaire Hazelton2014-09-14T12:30:00ZBest holiday reads 2014 - top authors recommend their favouriteshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2014-writers-critics-recommendations
Summer picks from Nick Hornby, Hilary Mantel, Philip Pullman and others …<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/13/best-holiday-reads-2014">• Observer Summer reads, with Ali Smith, John Banville, Naomi Wolf, Teju Cole...</a><p>I loved Akhil Sharma's novel <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780571314263" title=""><em>Family Life</em></a> (Faber) because it feels emotionally true. I&nbsp;also loved <em>Daughters Who Walk This Path</em> by Yejide Kilanko (Pintail), a&nbsp;debut novel set in western Nigeria, which on the surface is about a young woman coming of age, but is really an exploration of social taboos, gender and family. I have just started reading –&nbsp;and am really enjoying – Lily King's novel <em>Father of the Rain </em>(Atlantic); it's&nbsp;so well done.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2014-writers-critics-recommendations">Continue reading...</a>Summer readingChimamanda Ngozi AdichieMary BeardWilliam BoydAS ByattShami ChakrabartiMargaret DrabbleMark HaddonMohsin HamidPhilip HensherNick HornbyHari KunzruJohn LanchesterMark LawsonPenelope LivelyHilary MantelBlake MorrisonAndrew MotionPhilip PullmanIan RankinRuth RendellLionel ShriverHelen SimpsonJeanette WintersonBooksCultureColm TóibínSat, 12 Jul 2014 07:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2014-writers-critics-recommendationsRichard Saker/Rex FeaturesLionel Shriver was immediately hooked by James Lee Burke's Wayfaring Stranger. Photograph: Richard Saker/Rex FeaturesDavid Fisher/DFS-David Fisher/ Rex FeaturesIan Rankin 'can hardly tear himself away' from Linda Grants Upstairs at the Party. Photograph:Rex FeaturesSophia Evans/ObserverAndrew Motion recommends Sigrid Rausing's Everything Is Wonderful.Sarah Lee for the GuardianHilary Mantel recommends Toby Clement's Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims, 'a savage and tender adventure story'. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianSarah Lee for the GuardianMohsin Hamid is looking forward to reading Glenn Greenwald's No Place to Hide. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianDavid Fisher/Rex Features'Eleanor Marx: A Life' is a wonderful book … Shami Chakrabarti. Photograph: David Fisher/Rex FeaturesVariousVariousGuardian writers' summer picks for review Photograph: VariousGuardian Staff2014-07-12T07:30:00ZThe top 10 books about houseshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/15/top-10-books-about-homes-ben-highmore
From fiction to memoir to social history, author Ben Highmore selects books that open up the most intimate spaces of our lives<p>The Great Indoors explores changes in domestic life over the last hundred years or so, and it does so room by room (starting in the hallway and ending in the attic). I was interested in how these &quot;living&quot; rooms have been used, what they have been filled with and what they felt like across the 20th century and into the 21st.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/15/top-10-books-about-homes-ben-highmore">Continue reading...</a>FictionHistoryBooksCultureRuth RendellGeorge OrwellWed, 15 Jan 2014 15:08:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/15/top-10-books-about-homes-ben-highmoreTate ImagesInside story … detail from Richard Hamilton's collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? showing at the Tate Modern retrospective Feb-May 2014. Photograph: Tate ImagesTate ImagesInside story … detail from Richard Hamilton's collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? showing at the Tate Modern retrospective Feb-May 2014. Photograph: Tate ImagesBen Highmore2014-01-15T15:08:29Z